real bacon... creamy cheese... 100 calories... [ chef ] ma'am [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," benghazi showdown. the first hearings on the deadly attack begin as president obama lashes out at republicans for attacking u.n. ambassador susan rice. >> if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody they should go after me. and i'm happy to have that discussion with them. for them to go after the u.n. ambassador who had nothing to do with benghazi, and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received and besmirch her reputation is outrageous. >> i knee people don't come to

spontaneous demonstrations with rockets and mortars for the president of the united states for two weeks afterwards to deny that was the case, is either a coverup or it is incompetence. >> ahead this hour, one of the republicans calling for a wider probe, new hampshire senator kelly ayotte. and what's going on with the generals? leon panetta orders ethics review. the fbi agent, he's the guy who brought down the millennium bomber. taking out the military leader of hamas and fire from the gaza strip. >> israel will continue to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people. >> we'll talk to michael oren, israel's ambassador to the united states. and president obama at this hour in staten island to hear from storm victims. plus, say cheese. new members of congress pose for their class photo. perhaps the last time they'll look this happy.

>> good day. i'm andrea mitchell live in new york. as the nation learns about the key players and the controversy surrounding general david patreaus, successor at the cia on capitol hill briefing members of the house intelligence committee today. joining me now for our daily fix, chris cillizza managing editor of postpolitics.com, and kelly o'donnell and correspondent pete williams. pete, first to you. talk first about what is going on in the investigation? the fbi agent who was first only known as the person who triggered this, he was an acquaintance, friend of jill kelley's. we knew he had been taken off the case, was in fact the subject of an internal ethics review at the fbi and sent a photo without a shirt. now, they're pushing back, people speaking for the kelleys, to say this has been mischaracterized and this guy actually had a major role in one of the big terrorism or

suspected terrorism takedowns. >> reporter: what the kelleys people are saying is limited to the question of the picture, andrea. they say that's been very much misunderstood. months before all of this started he sent a picture to many people and it may or may not have been received by jill kelley, this person says, showing hymn standing with a bunch of mannequins they use as a firing range, three of them and then him as the fourth without his shirt on like the manny kins it wasn't meant to be sexual it was meant to be funny. it wasn't interpreted as anything inappropriate according to this person. as for the agent, now that his name is out there, it makes sense about why he called initially a congressman from washington because frederick hump fridays 16-year veteran of the cia, worked in washington state there in 1999, had a big patrol play in investigating the millennium bomb plot against the

l.a. airport and he knew the congressman from washington, that he called because that congressman used to be the sheriff there it would make sense he would call that congressman here raentsecently he thought the investigation was stalled. details are falling into place. >> tell me about the house intelligence hearing today. trying to get more information about the benghazi events and general patreaus is meeting with lawmakers in the house and senate tomorrow. >> we are unable to know what is being said because of the nature of the classified briefing, closed door, the rich detail pete was able to tell us about is not flowing yet. we hope as the day ends there would be some members characterize the nature of what they heard without revealing secrets. it's an important step. members wanted to make a big distinction between the events around the resignation of david patreaus and events in benghazi. there is overlap because of the

people involved they're looking at what happened in benghazi, wanting answers, many members, some in both parties, said the answers have not come quickly enough as something of this magnitude to lose a u.s. ambassador and three americans on an assault in consulate. we expect a lot of attention around david patreaus here early to visit with the house and intelligence committees. there has been concern not creating a spectacle because of the attention surrounding david patreaus now. and so there's been a bit of discussion about how the committees want to protect him. they want to hear from him but don't want to create a distraction that goes beyond his purpose for coming which is to talk about what he knew as cia director his trip to libya to investigation. there's a lot happening here in a sense of things moving forward after weeks surrounding the election period, when people were away when answers weren't

coming. there's a new critical mass shining a light to get answers. >> speaking of shining a lot, the defense secretary leon panetta announced they'll have an ethics review to see if there should be better ethics training of top generals because of a number of lapses, not just these, a couple incidents that involve personal behavior of various sorts. chris cillizza, let's talk about the election and mitt romney. mitt romney overheard on a tape speaking to contributors. nbc news does not know what the timing was. it was since the election we don't know when orr how it was recorded. listen to partial -- his partial explanation why he thinks he lost. >> the president's campaign did was focus on certain members of his base coalition, give them

extraordinary financial gifts from the government, and then work very agres herbalagresivel them out to vote. >> he goes on to talk about student loans and benefits part of the democratic policy, the democratic agenda, the president's campaign platform really. >> right. >> how does this strike you? there are many that say this sounds like him again trying to blame the recipients of benefits that the government has long offered to people. >> i tell you, andrea, i read about the comments last night. this morning i did a survey of folks on the republican side who are what i describe as the professional political class, people who run campaigns who advise campaigns who are involved in republican politics and have been for a long time. sentiment, i was a little bit struck by was overwhelm, which is he needs to stop talking.

we need to move on. this is exacerbating the problem that the election highlighted democrats cast the republican party as a party of wealthy white people, and in a more diverse country, as shown by the electorate nine daze ago, that's not a winning strategy. why you saw bobby jindal, governor of louisiana come out strongly in las vegas, and condemn what mitt romney had to say. that's why you saw scott walk, governor of wisconsin, do the same thing. my guess is, if mitt romney continues to speak in this regard you'll see even more people high profile people come out and say -- and it's hard in a way, what mitt romney's try to-ing to do make peace why he lost. this is not, in my conversations with republican types, this is not the way they would like him to be doing it. >> the romney campaign has issued a statement of explanation.

i put that in quotes. governor romney was simply elaborating on what david axelrod said about the obama campaign efforts to target key demographics specifically women. >> well, andrea, if i can quickly -- look, every campaign and candidate takes the policies that they've either put into place or would put into place and targets those two the communities they think would most benefit, would feel enthusiastic about them. that's campaign practice 101. that's why i think what mitt romney said, what he meant i leave up to him, but what he said sounds like he's accusing president obama's campaign of doing what every campaign throughout history has ever done, which is find people who are your supporters and make sure policies you've put into place you present them in the most positive possible light to those supporters to get them to vote. blaming voters is rarely a winning public relations strategy and that's why you see

so many republicans jumping on and saying, whoa, mitt romney does not represent our view of the electorate. >> people, before i let you go, a major oil settlement, bp, closing the chapter, the horrible chapter about the oil spill. tell me about the results. >> reporter: there is is a criminal side only, andrea. a big settlement. it's $4.5 billion, that is by far the largest settlement the federal government's ever had a with a private company, bp pleading guilty to a dozen criminal charges, relating to failure to take precautions on the rig itself that led to the explosion. one additional count of misleading congress about the amount of oil spilled. yet to come are the government's civil claims against bp for environmental damage and then of course the states have their own claims and private individuals in the gulf, too. bp isn't through writing checks but it does close a big chapter. >> pete williams, chris cillizza, kelly o'donnell, thanks to the three of you.

>> key republicans, as reporting on the senate arms services committee calling for a broader investigation into the attack on benghazi vowing to block u.n. ambassador susan rice to become secretary of state if nominated because of her comments about the incident. president angrily defended his ambassador. >> let me say specifically about susan rice, she has done exemplary work. she has represented the united states and our interests in the united nations with skill and professionalism and toughness and grace. if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. >> republican north from new hampshire kelly ayotte, who services of the armed services committee, joins me now. you've put in a resolution proposing an expanded probe, joint probe of the benghazi attack. why do you think it's needed

rather than having the individual committees proceed? >> i think it's really important that we don't have a stove pipe investigation of what happened because there are multiple committees that have jurisdiction over this. for example the intelligence committee is meeting focusing on the cia commponent. questions raised for armed services including during a seven-hour attack why can't our military respond to help them there? homeland security has jurisdiction. it's important that we have a full investigation that we not have a piecemeal approach. we get a full accounting of what occurred, take the best recommendations make sure it doesn't happen again and learn lessons from it. that's why we've called for the establishment of a select committee it would be bipartisan, in fact the democrats are in charge of the senate so it would be a component of the members of the committees and obviously the democrats would be in charge of the committee but we have a

process that the american people can have confidence in that we've gotten all of the information. >> you were with senators mccain and graham, i believe, yesterday, when they sort of drew a line in the sand about susan rice and the president reacted very angrily to that. shouldn't the president have his prerogatives about whom he nominates for cabinet choices and that person have a fair review based on their entire record, not one day, one morning television about benghazi? >> well, andrea, there's serious questions that have to be answered if she's nominated to serve at such an important position as secretary of state. she went five days after the attack five days later on every major news network. the president even said yesterday, and said it was a spontaneous reaction to the video. we know that's not the case. that's not what the facts bore out. within hours there were e-mails sent to the white house saying that answer al 15 rea claimed

responsibility for it. those are important questions that need to be answered. i think her nomination should be held until questions are answered as to why she would do that on every major news network. i raise the question based on the president's news conference he said she didn't have anything to do with benghazi. why would she or the administration send her on every major news network to put out a certain narration of what happened when it wasn't the case? i think those questions need to be answered and they're fair questions. >> if she was basing it on a cia assessment given, their talking points, why not go after the intelligent community rather than the communicator? >> well we have so many questions that need to be answered. we don't know -- i know that we're -- the president said it was based on intelligence briefings but there have been more questions raised. first of all i think that when you have a position like the u.n. ambassador in that position, why didn't she ask how come the secretary of state or the cia director or the

department of defense secretary, aren't the ones go on the television show? you know i think that's a fair question. when she wasn't the one directly involved in benghazi. so there were questions and information that was already available that i think asking those questions she should have undertaken the responsibility and especially if she wants to serve as secretary of state we have to trust what she will tell us. my view on it is that those questions should be answered and i think that her testimony, of course, if she is nominated should be had on those earns and we'll judge her answers. >> one of the issues today also that there were a lot of people talking about, and a lot of republicans, what mitt romney said in part to campaign contributors sometime in the last ten days since the election. are you comfortable with the way he explained his defeat by talking about people like students who take student loan breaks and others, women who get help for contraception?

did he seem to be blaming the voters again? >> andrea, i listened to the comments. i don't know what the context fully was. i don't agree with the comments. i think the campaign is over and what voters are are look for us to do is to accept their votes and then go forward and we've got some big challenges that need to be resolved, as you know. >> so you're not comfortable with what you heard him say? >> i don't know the full context of them but i don't agree with the comments. and my view is the campaign is over. voters have spoken and they want us to work together to solve our problems. >> thanks very much, senator. appreciate you coming on today. >> thanks, andrea. fighting intensifies in the middle east. reporters on the ground in tel aviv and gaza. late, israel's ambassador to the united states michael orrin joins us. tonight on rock center with brian williams inside the life of high-ranking generals, from

how they live to how they travel around the world "four star power" rock center on nbc. music is a universal language. but when i was in an accident... i was worried the health care system spoke a language all its own with unitedhealthcare, i got help that fit my life. information on my phone. connection to doctors who get where i'm from. and tools to estimate what my care may cost. so i never missed a beat. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

fire bad! just have to fire roast these tomatoes. do you churn your own butter too? what? this is going to give you a head start on your dinner. that seems easier sure does who are you? [ female announcer ] new progresso recipe starters. five delicious cooking sauces you combine with fresh ingredients to make amazing home-cooked meals. ♪ ambiance [ female announcer ] new progresso recipe starters. your head-start to home cooked. maybe you want to incorporate a business. or protect your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like the help of an attorney. at legalzoom a legal plan attorney is available

in most states with every personalized document to answer questions. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected.

israel and the palestinians living in gaza are engaged in their fiercest fighting in four years. israel continued to air strikes while missiles from gaza reached a tel aviv suburb. at least 15 palestinians and 3 israelis killed in the past 24 hours and 3 israeli soldiers reportedly injured by hamas rockets. martin fletcher joins us tel aviv. martin, did there is start with the assassination or with israel taking down the hamas leader or was there already activity coming from gaza into israel? >> there's been a low level of

violence and we start reporting when it reaches a peak. but there was in particular an attack ten days ago when the palestinians fired a missile into an israeli army jeep, seriously wounding four soldiers. that began to be the signal to the israelis a red line being broached. before the assassination the palestinians fired 100 rocketed from gaza over a period of five days into israel. certain point israel said the rules are changinging we have to re-establish control, and they struck and assassinated of course a major success for israel the military leader of hamas. >> tell us what's happening in gaza, because we have continuing firing. where are rockets coming from? we know that iron dome has protected frrl many of them hitting but what is the situation? and also the departure of the u.n. workers from gaza. >> it's thursday night, streets

would be bustling, they're not. people in gaza, 1.5 million people, very much concerned. there's a great sense of anxiety and tension in the air here. people are worried about the ongoing operation. no doubt from the perspective of the palestinians this could escalate further. they saw four years ago it began with an air strike, if you will, but fully escalated into ground invasion, many people are bracing themselves for that. and that what is many of the palestinians that we've been speaking to say they fear the most, gaza is in no condition to withstand that invasion. the hospitals that we've been speaking to and others say they've been stretched to capacity as a result of the sarial strikes over of the past several days. many civilians killed as well as nearly 200 palestinians injured in that fighting. as you mentioned as well, aid workers, international workerers from united nations and others many have evacuated. on our way into gaza we saw three or four dozen leaving. an ominous sign the situation's

going to get worse before it gets better. >> martin you're a veteran of the situation. what is your feel for what the potential here is for this getting out of control? >> reporter: yeah, i think the fear that eamon expressed, the people in gaza fear about an israeli ground invague, it does seem realist ifistic pormt. today it seems more likely. the israeli army on the -- armored cars are streaming toward the border. israeli leaders are saying they want to do everything, the defense minister said, there's more or less a quote, we will do anything, emphasized repeated, we will do anything, anything to make south of israel secure and the sense of that is a ground invasion could be the major card that israel still has to play.

but israel certainly would dearly like to stop those rocket attacks from the air, from its attacks from the air and the sea, by the way, by destroying the hamas stockpile of long-range weapons. that's what israel wants to do. we saw how israel says they've destroyed most of those weapons, nevertheless for the first time, there were two long-range rockets fired from gaza towards tel aviv area for the first time, sirens surrounded in cel behind me this evening. two rockets fell harmlessly, close in fields near tel aviv. israel's trying to destroy that threat and say they'll do anything to destroy the threat, threat is still real. yes a ground invasion i would say is a legitimate fear among palestinians it could happen. >> this happen. ss in the context of no ongoing negotiations, nothing has happened on the palestinian front. they have gone to the united nations general assembly for some sort of informal or

symbolic status, having a year ago lost their bid for some statehood declared by the security council. what happens next from that perspective? >> well, first of all from a palestinian perspective, two main palestinians factions have been at odds for years. they have been unable to put together a united palestinian front how to deal with ongoing crisis. there's a loud debate in the palestinian society whether these rocket attacks is advancing the palestinian cause. on one hand they look at what's go on in the west bank, see expansion of israeli settlement, little progress taking place on the negotiations front there. they say that is not working. those that subscribe to the two-state solution through negotiation has failed. others are looking at gaza and the humanitarian situation, the armed resistance has brought for them, they say that is not working. there's a great sense of frustration among palestinians

and the united states, which is supposed to be working on brokering this agreement. and a great disappointment with the international community more is not being done to advance peace negotiations. it was one of the stated goal of president obama when he came into office four years after end of his first term. very little to show any progress has been made on that front. >> in fact, progress has been lost. and there's now real concerns about the peace treaty which has been the central core, the peace treaty has been the core of all peace in the middle east that is at risk. both of you, thank you so very much. we'll be talking to israel's ambassador to the united states, michael oren. time for the "your business" entrepreneurs of the week. kathleen and susan are encouraging customers to shop local. they created the monthly ladies

night in burbank, california to boost sales by staying open late. support local retailers november 24th for the third annual small business saturday. watch "your business" this sunday morning at 7:30 on msnbc. sfx- "sounds of african drum and flute" look who's back. again? it's embarrassing it's embarrassing! we can see you carl. we can totally see you. come on you're better than this...all that prowling around. yeah, you're the king of the jungle. have you thought about going vegan carl? hahaha!! you know folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy. how happy are they jimmy? happier than antelope with night-vision goggles. nice! get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems,

such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. constipated? yeah. mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps. but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation. thanks. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. >> the house and senate intelligence committees are holding hearings on the attacks in benghazi. this is david patreaus set to testify on the hill behind

closed doors tomorrow. joining me, kent conrad from north dakota, chairman of the senate budget committee, with the fiscal cliff looming ahead. start with benghazi and the intelligence hearings. what have you learned so far that it all clarifies the responsibility for potential intelligence failures before, dur, after the attack? >> you know, the hearing start is this afternoon at 2:30, another hearing tomorrow morning. so we've not yet had any testimony. i think what people are looking for is the time line. who knew what, when. what did we know was occurring? i think all of us understand that in these kinds of circumstances there's a certain fog, sometimes called the fog of war, obviously this is different than a typical war, but this is a terrorist attack. and certainly there was a certain amount of confusion

among intelligence operatives. that's understandable. but we do need to know who knew what, when did they know it, and what did they do about it? >> what is david patreaus' responsibility for this? there is some suggestion that general clapper, the head -- director of national intelligence already concerned that the cia was putting out its defense without checking with other agencies for the way benghazi was handled. and also that the white house is not happy with the cia for giving talking pointed to susan rice that got her into this political difficulty on the sunday morning talk shows. do you think the agency should bare some responsibility or is this a scapegoating after the fact? >> you know about this town, andrea, there's always a certain amount of scapegoating that goes on in this town. i think the most important thing for us to understand is really what is the time line? and as i expressed earlier, what

did people actually do when they had different information because, look, there was chaos. there's no question there was chaos. that's nobody's fault. that's the real world. and when there's chaos, it takes time to sort it out. obviously, talking points were given to ambassador rice. she was told by intelligence agencies a certain story of events that proved not to be correct. that's not her fault. that's whatever intelligence agencies gave her that information. that's their responsibility. >> what about the fiscal cliff now and the negotiations? you heard the president yesterday, you heard the democrats and republicans, you're leading the budget talks about the efforts to try to resolve this. what is your sense? is there a solution that

involves some way around the tax dilemma and also the budget cuts? >> yeah, i really think there is. i've been part of the group of eight negotiations. we've had several days of meetings already this week finance committee on the democratic side met yesterday, finance committee, full committee met today. i really do think there is a way forward. this is something we can do. my own belief is we ought to agree on a down payment, several hundreds of billions of dollars of revenue and spending changes made right now. and then agree on a larger framework that would be the entire package. how much are we going to save out of entitlements? how much are we going to save out of the discretionary accounts? how much are we going to raise in revenue? how are we going to raise revenue? what are the actual steps taken? and the specific details to be worked out in the first six months of next year. and all backed up by a fail/safe

mechanism 15 says if congress does not act effectively by the first six months of next year there will be automatic changes made on both spending side of the equation and the revenue side so we have an assurance that we are going to address this problem that we're going to get our fiscal affairs around control and we're going to get this country headed in right direction. >> senator kent conrad outlining a possible solution. thank you very much. heightened tensions in the middle east. will the conflict spread? oh, let me guess --ou see this? more washington gridlock. no, it's worse -- look, our taxes are about to go up. not the taxes on our dividends though, right? that's a big part of our retirement. oh, no, it's dividends, too. the rate on our dividends would more than double. but we depend on our dividends to help pay our bills. we worked hard to save. well, the president and congress have got to work together to stop this dividend tax hike.

before it's too late.

less than 24 hours after david patreaus announce head would be testifying in benghazi, the house foreign affairs committee says that secretary clinton will also testify as well. by the way looking at live pictures from staten island. president will be speaking shortly. amid escalating tensions over the benghazi investigation we're

expecting that secretary clinton will also testify. joining me now, nicholas burns former state department spokesman and former ambassador to nato. we may have to interrupt if the president comes to the microphones in staten island where he's looking at recovery efforts, of course. what is your takeaway from the controversy over benghazi and david patreaus and his resignation over pressure to resign as cia director? >> benghazi was a tragedy for the united states, a major security meltdown there. obviously tough questions have to be asked. and they are being asked and secretary clinton has convened an accountability review board and will testify once the board has made its findings known to the administration. i think that's an orderly process and it ought to go forward on that basis. obviously there are all sorts of congressional committees looking into that. we would be remiss if there was

a rush to judgment. all sorts of accusations made against the administration, many i find to be unfair. i think we all ought to wait until the facts are in before we begin to cast, make judgments. >> you know susan rice very well. you are an ambassador. line in the sand was drawn and the president was angry about what john mccain and lindsey graham said. what is the predicate for that? she's not even been nominated. it's not clear the decision has been made to nominate her for secretary of state. >> susan rice is an outstanding person and an effective ambassador to the u.n. i i think it's unfair to hold her accountable when she -- solely accountable when she was articulating views of the entire administration. i know how the process works and you do, too, before someone goes on the sunday morning shows people get together and decide what is our best knowledge of what happened on issue x, y or, z and she was simply articulate

what the administration believed to be the truth at that time five days after the attack in benghazi. it's unfair to hold her responsible for that. she's an outstanding public servant and deserves to be treated in a much more -- in a much more honorable way. >> as people are being invited -- using the term loosely -- up to the hill for hearings they feel like star chambers. the house foreign affairs committee said secretary clinton would testify. the word from the state department is that's not a done deal. toward the end of the review board she'll have to be up there to respond to all of it. what is the internal dynamic inside the intelligence community? you've had a cia director forced to resign over what he acknowledges were personal misconduct? you now also have a four-star general leading the war in afghanistan, nominated to be nato supreme allied commander who is supposed to have his

hearing today and now is not having his hearing because he has been ensnared in the e-mail chain, probably innocently but enough there for the defense department to decide they needed to review and other issues with other generals in the chain of command? there does seem to be a feeling that there is something seriously amiss. >> well, obviously some of these events that have been unearthed over last week it's a tragedy for the people involved. i can tell you, having served with the u.s. military, worked with the u.s. military for so many years when i was ambassador to nato, ambassador to greece, there are lots of great people in the military who are ready to lead us forward. and i think that we'll see that in the weeks and months ahead and obviously we've got have our best people on the front lines because we still have the war in afghanistan, 68,000 american troops are still in afghanistan.

and you know we've got to have our best people on that. we obviously have to have our best people working on the iran nuclear problem. one of the tasks of any administration, when they go through a transition, even a friendly transition from a first to a second term, is to identify, in this case military officers who can lead us forward and there are plenty of good people who can do that. >> as former ambassador to nato, is there a reason if this is cleared up general alan could not be confirmed? there is so much controversial already -- >> he's an outstanding officer. he's done by all accounts an effective job and bringing us through the difficult phase of the afghan war. and assuming that this is cleared up i would hope very much his appointment would be able to go forward. there's a tendency by the press, obviously, to focus on all of the aspects of this affair. we have so many important issues ahead of us in american foreign

policy from the war to iran to north korea to global economic crisis to the euro debt crisis the arab revolutions to securing our embassies. one thing we haven't talked about, i hope that congress will fully fund embassy security. that's been lost in this debate about benghazi. the real issues to me are, how do we strengthen security at embassies, how do we republicans and democrats to give full funding to secure embassies and consoulates and how do we go after the terrorist group in libya that killed ambassador stevens and his colleagues? it's a partisan time in our country, unfortunately. >> thanks very much, nick burns. next, israel's ambassador to the u.s., michael oren joining us. [ male announcer ] can a car be built around a state of mind? ♪ announcing the all-new 2013 malibu from chevrolet. ♪

with a remarkable new interior featuring the available chevrolet mylink infotainment system. this is where sophisticated styling begins. and where it ends? that's up to you. it's here -- the greatest malibu ever. ♪ now is a good time to think about your options. are you looking for a plan that really meets your needs and your budget? as you probably know, medicare only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call today to request a free decision guide to help you

better understand medicare and which aarp medicare supplement plan works best for you. with this type of plan, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist. there's a range of plans to choose from, too. and they all travel with you. anywhere in the country. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. call today. remember, all medicare supplement plans help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay -- expenses that could really add up. these kinds of plans could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs.

you'll be able to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. and you never need referrals. if you're thinking about your options, call today. when you call, request your free decision guide. and find the aarp medicare supplement plan that may be right for you. then don't get nickle and dimed by high cost investments and annoying account fees. at e-trade, our free easy-to-use online tools and experienced retirement specialists can help you build a personalized plan. and with our no annual fee iras and a wide range of low cost investments, you can execute the plan you want at a low cost. so meet with us, or go to etrade.com for a great retirement plan with low cost investments. ♪ today prime minister benjamin netanyahu stood by the israeli air strikes against gaza. joining me now, michael oren.

ambassador, thank you very much for joining us. first, what is the situation now? you've just briefed nancy pelosi. we've had word from her. where does it stand now, in terms of the rocket fire coming from garz and the return? >> good to be with you, andrea. well, just recently in the last hour and a half, rockets have struck tel aviv, terrorist rockets fired from gaza. >> did any of the rockets land in tel aviv? we were told by our correspondent they did not hit. what do you know about that? >> they landed in the tel aviv aarea. no injuries caused, thank god. this means 4.5 million israelis over half of the population of our country, is under rocket fire from gaza and israel's taking all means necessary to defend our citizens against the aggression. we've had 1,000 rockets fired at our citizens over the last month alone. israelis are in bomb shelters. prime minister netanyahu went to a bomb shelter in tel aviv to

show his support. and our operations are continuing to persuade hamas and other terrorist organizations in gaza to cease firing rockets at our innocent civilians. >> is there a circumstance under which you would have ground troops entering gaza? >> well, nobody wants a ground operation. we are going to try to avoid that. again, we'll have to take all necessary means to defend our citizens against this flagrant aggression and it's gone on now for weeks, months, since our last operation in gaza, by the way, 2009, israel's hit by 2,600 rockets. can you imagine that? >> tell me about the hamas leader that israel took out. >> jabari was responsible for dozens of terrorist attacks. he had blood of many dozens of israelis on his hands. among his infamous acts the

kidnapping of the israeli soldier who was held in captivity for five years. two israeli soldiers were killed during that operation. he was the military commander of hamas in the gaza strip. as a result he was responsible, he bore the responsibility, for these thousands of rocket attacks against our civilians. >> the u.n. has had to leave gaza. they've evacuated. so the people of gaza are left, stranded. they have no resources, they are isolated. what do you say to the palestinians in gaza and what they can do being caught in the cross fire? >> there are vital supplies going into gaza. let's be clear. we have said you don't have to live like that. you don't have to live under terrorist regime that will instead of investing in infrastructure and education in science spend money building and housing and aiming 12,000 rockets, that's how many rocket there are in gaza, that's what

we say to the palestinians of gaza. we want to live in peace with you. we do not want to be edge gaged in conflict. let us peace, and we will let you live in peace. >> the egyptian-israeli peace treaty is a bedrock, as you know, of peace in the region. egypt has withdrawn its ambassador. is this peace treaty now in jeopardy? >> we hope not, and we think egypt can play a constructive role as it has in the past in persuades hamas to back down and mediating a peace fire. we would welcome a construct i feel role by the yippians. >> thank you very much and up thanks for being with us. aa very difficult day. what political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? that's next right here on "andrea mitchell reports."

you won't find a "home rule" on every corner, a "stag provisions" down every block, or a "hugh and crye" in every town. these are the small businesses of america, and all across the nation they're getting ready for their day. hundreds of thousands of small businesses are preparing for november 24, a day to open doors, and welcome the millions of customers who will turn out to shop small. small business saturday. visit shopsmall.com and get ready. because your day is coming.

starts with ground beef, unions, and peppers baked in a ketchup glaze with savory gravy and mashed russet potatoes. what makes stouffer's meatloaf best of all? that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. let's fix dinner.

which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours. as we wait for the president to

speak on staten island in the recovery and fema efforts in staten island on the hurricane and storm sandy, let's talk about tomorrow. there's a storm on capitol hill, and it's going to be all involved david petraeus. >> former general david petraeus testifying on the hill, andrea. i heard at the top of the show kelly o'donnell talking about how they're doing it in the morning, and they're hoping it's not going to be a circus. it's going to be a circus. this story, i think, has captivated people whether it's for the tawdry elements or petrae petraeus's high profile, he's there to talk about benghazi and the four people including ambassador chris stevens who died there. not to talk about the reason that he resigned, this extra-marital affair. i think it's going to be something close to a circus, which is unfortunate because i think there are legitimate questions on benghazi.

i'm sure they'll get asked anyway, but my guess is they'll be overshadowed a little bit by the coverage by the fact he's out there for one of the first times since all of this information has come to light. >> and circling back to things mentioned earlier about susan rice. her office said she went on the sunday talk shows to talk about foreign policy in general. it's not up to her what questions she gets asked. fair enough? >> if you didn't think that president obama was nominating susan rice for secretary of state, after that very strong defense, it's clear he won't back down because john mccain and lindsey graham threaten to block her confirmation. >> take that. i am the american president. you're not says the president. that does it for us for that edition of "andrea mitchell reports." tomorrow on the show congressman vis v chris van hollen. tamron has has a look at what's

next on "news nation." >> in the next hour we get the latest in breaking news out of israel where air-raid sirens are blairing after palestinian militants fire rockets on tel aviv. we have two live reports. president obama is in the new york area with michael bloomberg, nor chuck schumer as well and andrew cuomo the government of new york. the president making his second tour of the region after hurricane sandy. obviously, barrelled through here taking it with it lives and many people still homeless, there are about 90,000 without power in the region. the president on the ground in the new york area for the second time since hurricane sandy blasted the area. let's listen in. >> from fema, from homeland security napolitano who is with us, from health and human services secretary sebelius and all of your team, craig fugate from team marx the borough,

president, and i and the red cross together wants to thank everybody here. we have a new program, rapid response. we have to hold a bunch of people, electricians, plumbers and carpenters going out. we'll get everybody back with electricity and rebuild in a better way. thanks to everything that our senators have brought us and our congressman has brought us. congressman grim is with us here. this is going to be something we'll look back on and realize we all pull together when nature dealt us a blow. let me introduce somebody that i can't tell you how well we've worked together. the response we have is because we have. we combined all the state and city agencies together. governor cuomo has been as cooperative and great and forward-thinking as anybody could be, and i wanted to personally thank him for that th the. >> thank you very much. let me thank mayor bloomberg. everyone in new york city joins

me in thanking the mayor for his leadership, competence and diligence and professionalism. his team is tireless. mr. mayor, we thank you very much. we thank all the first responders, every one of them a hero. we thank the state and local elected officials who are all here today. a special thank you to borough president moldanero and national and county executives steve ba loan in suffolk county. we thank them all. most of the, mr. president, we thank you and your cabinet, especially secretaries napolitano and donovan and craig fugate for their unprecedented federal presence and effort. i'd also like to thank or federal officials, senator schumer, senator gillibrand, congressman grim with us today for all the help in securing the necessary funds so that we can rebuild. 17 days ago on october 29th,

everything changed for new york. 60 new yorkers lost their lives, tens of thousands saw their homes damaged or destroyed. communities from staten island to lindenpurs were decimated. 17 days ago we felt a new vulnerability for the first time. we have much to do. there is no doubt. we must provide shelter and support in the short term. we must repair thousands of homes and small businesses. we must reknit the fabric of tattered communities. we must rethink and redesign for the long term, because extreme weather as we have learned is the new normal. but we are new yorkers, mr. president. we are tough and resilient, and we will overcome and we will be the better for it. also, mr. president, we take comfort in knowingha